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Posted Tuesday, August 28, 2012

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Author
Topic: It's been 4 years, am I infected? (Read 1744 times)

4 years ago I had unprotected vaginal and anal sex with a guy I barely knew. Upon visiting my obgyn for my reg checkup, I found out that I had caught clhlamydia and hpv (as I had an abnormal pap smear). 3 months later i went to a clinic to get tested for everything including HIV and the results were negative but the paranoia still made me think that I had it.

Eventually I got into a long term relationship with someone who I thought was monogomas with me only to catch chlamydia twice more and gonnorrhea once. I stopped having sex with him, but never went to get tested again as he was HIV negative and went on to have 2 healthy children.

Over the years, I feel as though I have some symptoms however. I bruise easily, have muscle aches, caught hives for 6 months after taking a medication, and experienced itching. Doctors tested my blood for allergens and said no allergies were present/they didn't know what was causing the skin issues. it's been 2 going on 3 years since I've had unprotected sex and I visit my gyno every 6 months for checkups and everything has been fine. I went to my regular doctor last year for a routine checkup and blood work and was told that everything looked great/i was healthy. Only thing was my urinalysis had some abnormal thoughts, but I was told not to worry about it. I haven't been tested for HIV in 4 years (since the 1st incident) but lately the anxiety is killing me. Is it possible that I may have it?

You would have been at risk for HIV if you have had unprotected intercourse with anyone outside of a securely monogamous relationship in which both partners have reliably tested negative together.

None of the health issues you have mentioned are HIV specific.

You need to stop making this situation more complicated than it has to be. Get tested and confirm your accurate HIV status. HIV is not something to just fret and guess about. Hopefully you will test negative but you won't know reliably until you get tested at 3 months past the most recent unprotected intercourse.

And in the future you ought not to be having unprotected intercourse outside of a securely monogamous relationship, etc.

You're right! Well it's been 2 almost 3 years since I've had unprotected sex and I have been getting pap smears every 6 months with good results. But the issues I'm having with my skin make me question whether or not I have HIV, especially the body aches I've been getting lately. They could also be allergies, but I'm not sure. The anxiety has been so much on me. I'm going to go and get tested tomorrow. I'm scared!

You're doing the right thing in getting tested. Your hiv status is never something to guess about. You have had a risk (unprotected intercourse with a person of unknown hiv status) and you do need to test.

Neither symptoms nor even the LACK of symptoms will ever tell you a single thing about your hiv status. ONLY testing will.

Here's what you need to know in order to avoid hiv infection:

You need to be using condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, every time, no exceptions until such time as you are in a securely monogamous relationship where you have both tested for ALL sexually transmitted infections together.

To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with an STI. Sex without a condom lasts only a matter of minutes, but hiv is forever.

Have a look through the condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use condoms with confidence.

Anyone who is sexually active should be having a full sexual health care check-up, including but not limited to hiv testing, at least once a year and more often if unprotected intercourse occurs.

If you aren't already having regular, routine check-ups, now is the time to start. As long as you make sure condoms are being used for intercourse, you can fully expect your routine hiv tests to return with negative results.

Don't forget to always get checked for all the other sexually transmitted infections as well, because they are MUCH easier to transmit than hiv.

Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts